


Table for Two

by sherlollyship



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: F/M, Josef's POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 05:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1886406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlollyship/pseuds/sherlollyship
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was a birthday fic I wrote for actinglikeanutter :) I hope you all like it!</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was a birthday fic I wrote for actinglikeanutter :) I hope you all like it!

It was a Sunday night and the restaurant was as full as ever. It buzzed with couples whom were all trying to talk louder than the rest. Every now and then a woman´s ringing laughter could be heard above the noise. I wriggled uncomfortably in my tuxedo, the room was too warm and my bowtie was suffocating me.

I normally enjoyed working amongst people, it gave me an opportunity to observe, they were all so different, every man and woman that walked through the doors had a different story, one I found easy to read. Lately they had started to bore me; I noticed that the people who chose this particular restaurant tended to have the same motive and personality. I easily saw through their exteriors and often found that beneath their beauty, grace and general kindness lured envy and cunningness and it was clear that what they seemed to be was simply a carefully constructed image to help their progress in the world. The upper class that had enchanted me now disgusted me. These were the people that occupied the white clothed tables.

Everything was literally given to them on a silver platter, I thought as I balanced the delicious dish on my giant silver plate and laid it down in front of the guest, smiling politely.

In a moment I was called to the concierge to show another couple to their table. As I spotted them they immediately caught my attention. It was a tall man and a petite woman. The man was dressed in a well-tailored black suit and looked very grave and serious. His hair looked slightly ruffled, curly and black as night. His peculiar face was eye catching, I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not.

The woman standing to his right looked a little nervous, it was clear that she felt a little out of place. She was dressed in an elegant silky red dress and her chestnut hair was arranged in an easy-going bun.

I stood quietly beside the concierge and waited to do my duty.

“Table for two.” The woman said. She smiled shyly at the concierge and shot me a polite glance.

A barely noticeable smile played in the corner of her date’s mouth as she spoke and his expression softened a bit, making him look slightly less terrifying.

“I already made reservations.” His voice was startlingly low and dark, but not unkind.

She looked up at him smiling and his face broke out into a fond grin. But it quickly disappeared as he glanced up at us, as if he thought his smile was too private to share with strangers. He didn’t take much notice of me and looked more severely at the concierge.

“Sherlock Holmes?” he questioned.

“Correct.”

Ahh, Sherlock Holmes, I thought, a strange name for a strange man.

“Show Mr Holmes to his table.” He awoke me from my thoughts.

“Yes, of course.” I half mumbled, but regaining my composure asked what the ladies name was. I hated when he didn’t also refer to the women.

“Molly, Molly Hooper.” She smiled sweetly and gave me a thankful nod for acknowledging her.

“Well, Ms Hooper and Mr Holmes, let me show you to your table.”

I glanced quickly at the listing, grabbed a pair of menus and turned to guide them to the table. It was an out of the way table, isolated from the rest and much quieter, a good choice. They both seated themselves and I gave them each a menu.

Now these people were truly fascinating, his behaviour was so reserved that I could hardly resist analysing him and his companion had such a sweet disposition that I immediately liked her. The greatest mystery was that these two, who were so in contrast to each other, had come together. My happiness sparked as I had finally found an enigma that required some thought and reflection. In my dull life, this was what I lived for.

Ms Hooper started to study the menu and when she wasn’t looking, Sherlock Holmes gave me a little nod, thanking me for what I had said. He was very protective over her, I observed.

To my agitation, I was called to attend to another table. I poured their drinks absentmindedly as I was thinking of the strange couple. But of course I couldn’t help but get irritated over the fake laughter and the horrendous amount of makeup the middle-aged woman was wearing. The man she was sitting across from looked fairly wealthy. He had that stern expression that businessmen usually have and his grey suit was too clean. The desperation to please in the woman’s expression was pitiful and the whole situation seemed painful. It was textbook.

I moved away quickly and placed myself in a corner where I had a good view of Ms Hooper and Mr Holmes and I waited impatiently for them to decide on their meal. I could probably have poured some more drinks, but for the moment I was too engaged in my deductions to be bothered.

I decided to take a shot at Molly Hooper. I could easily see that she was also a bit reserved, but mostly just shy. Her eyes revealed that she was kind and good hearted, as they only sought out what pleased her and she took in her surroundings with glee and appreciation. Her hands often wandered self-consciously to her hair. Her brown eyes twinkled as they met Mr Holmes’s, which reflected the same admiration.

Mr Holmes also had the habit of touching his hair nervously and when she wasn’t looking, he searched for anything that might be a discomfort to her, determined to get rid of whatever it might be. And when he saw there was none, a smile spread across his lips and he looked content. His eyes were bright and awake, taking in his surroundings, but not in the way Molly did, he was much more analytical and observant. I tracked his eyes and got a glimpse of his thoughts. Despite being extremely reserved and having a good deal of self control, his feelings would reveal themselves every now and then through a slight change in expression or little unconscious tics. Every time a too loud laugh could be heard, he shifted in his seat and redirected his attention to Molly.

Suddenly his eyes darted to me and met my stare. I moved to their table, seeing that they had put their menus down.

“Are you ready to order?”

They both nodded.

“We’d both like the duck please.” Molly requested and Sherlock collected the menus and handed them to me after I scribbled down the order.

“Is there anything else?” I asked. I wanted to stay by their table as long as possible.

Sherlock shot an unnoticeable glance at the loud couple sitting some distance away as if he considered asking me to move them further away, which I would have done gladly. But I hardly thought it would be acceptable, though it was awfully tempting.

Without thinking I shrugged and smiled understandingly. Sherlock looked at me puzzled and I realized that I wasn’t supposed to know what he was thinking. I blushed embarrassed, but his puzzlement soon turned into approval and he smiled amused.

“We’re fine.” He answered and smiled smugly, Molly looked at him confused at what had just happened. I turned to leave and wandered back to my corner.

I was more careful now that he knew that I was paying attention. I went to wait on other tables, often those near theirs and I managed to catch snippets of their conversation.

“We got a new body today, did I tell you? William was his name he was stabbed. The weapon and killer was found but his body was interesting.”

Sherlock laughed heartily.

“Am I not interesting enough?”

“I didn’t mean like that!” She giggled. “He had been shot several times before.”

I nearly poured too much water in the glass and it was full to the very top. I muttered an apology and the guest gave me a queer look. I quickly went to another table.

Molly must work at a morgue, I thought, a pathologist most likely.

She said something I couldn’t make out, but it must have been a joke for they both laughed heartily.

It was strange seeing how much Sherlock’s appearance changed when he smiled or laughed. His smile was crinkly and he chuckled heartily. I had to admit, he did look handsome. Most especially when he was listening to Molly talk. Usually when she was talking about her work or something she thought was funny. Her eyes lit up and she told the story with such enthusiasm that it was impossible not to smile. The expression in his eyes in those moments made even me smile, I felt foolish, but there’s something in seeing another human so thoroughly happy. I didn’t usually see that kind of happy here.

“Josef?” I started as I heard him say my name as I walked by their table. Then I remembered I was wearing a name tag that he had undoubtedly noticed.

“Can I have a word with you?” He looked grim again and he stood up from his chair.

“Y-Yes.” I stuttered. I had gone too far, I had been too obvious.

He directed me to the door that lead to the kitchen. I started to panic. He looked as terrifying as ever.

He positioned himself so that his back was turned to Molly. His expression softened and he smiled nervously. I let out a relieved breath. He fidgeted with his suit, straightening it.

“I want you to pay attention, I know you can do that.”

I blushed.

“In a few moments I’m either going to tap my finger three times on the table or itch my hair. If I do the first, you must bring champagne to our table and if I do the second the whole thing is off.”


	2. Chapter 2

I nodded seriously to show that I was the man for the job. He gave me a pat on the shoulder, though it looked as if it was more to comfort himself rather than me. Sherlock wandered back to his table and had a seat. I stood quietly observing by the door, ready to give the message if it was needed.

I felt strangely honored by the little trust he had placed in me, it was nothing to boast of, but I felt strangely attached to him, he seemed decent and he reminded me a little bit of myself. There was something in the way he took in everything around him.

I made a lousy attempt to read their lips, but it was hopeless. First it looked as if Molly asked about what we had talked about and he probably made up some excuse. I could see Sherlock’s hand move to his pocket every few seconds in doubt. The poor man was beyond nervous and I didn’t blame him, Molly was quite a woman from what I could see.

I watched as he swallowed the remainder of his wine trying to perk up his courage.

Seeing that there was no chance of him proposing just yet, I went to poor him some more wine, he looked to need it. He gave me a thankful smile as I finished filling his crystal glass.

Venturing to attend to some of the other nearby tables, I once again eavesdropped on their conversation.

“You like the wine?” Molly asked smiling at him as he constantly sipped his glass.

He put it down immediately.

“Its good.” He remarked.

There was a short silence.

“You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.” She giggled.

“Thank you.”

Now’s your chance, I thought, urging him on in my mind. I saw his hand reach for his pocket once more. He let his hand drop to his side. Another chance missed.

I sighed.

I went back to my corner seeing that it was not going to happen right away. I kept watching Sherlock trying to work up his courage, reaching for his pocket and then pulling away from it at the very last second.

They both looked rather tense, Sherlock’s awkward nervousness seemed to rub off on Molly as she was too fidgeting.

They had stayed for a long while now, the restaurant was slowly emptying. Neither of them made any gesture to leave.

Sherlock and I had been exchanging glances a lot the last hour, he looked helplessly at me and I tried to urge him on. Honestly I was beginning to lose faith he would manage to do anything tonight. I really wanted this to happen. Very much because I had waited a total of three tables the entire evening and my boss was furious. It didn’t bother me too much, but I didn’t want it all to have been for nothing.

Molly looked more and more uncomfortable. I was afraid he had completely scared her off with his strange behavior that evening. But then she reached for her coat.

Out of her coat pocket she pulled out a little box. I gasped loudly and the couple sitting at the nearest table looked at me weirdly.

Molly was extremely nervous and Sherlock was still trying to sort out the information. She got down on one knee. I scooted within earshot.

“Sherlock Holmes, will you marry me?”

He was speechless, literally speechless. He stood silently and stared at the petite brunette. I hardly fought the urge to go right over and shake some words out of him.

“Please say something.” She looked terrified.

I couldn’t help myself and I coughed loudly.

Sherlock blinked quickly as if he was just getting his vision back.

“I’m sorry, did you?”

“I did. Was it bad?”

“Yes. I mean no sorry. Ehm, it was not bad and my answer to your question is yes.”

She stood up slowly and a smile spread across both of their faces.

I felt like I’d just watched Titanic and I was struggling against tears. Gather yourself Josef, for God’s sake you don’t even know them! I thought to myself.

The couple kissed and hugged and got applause from the entire restaurant to Sherlock’s annoyance and Molly’s delight.

Sherlock gave me a smile and a wink and I gave a thumbs up in return. I swear I have never felt better about myself, it was strange. I hurried on to get the ordered champagne. What a good evening it had turned out to be.


End file.
